


Meeting of the Minds

by Severina



Category: Oz (1997)
Genre: Community: hardtime100
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-28
Updated: 2009-11-28
Packaged: 2017-10-09 18:30:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/90282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severina/pseuds/Severina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Season Six.<br/>Prompt 23: Writing By Numbers (LJ's Hardtime100 Community) -- Two lists were provided of character names, one list of props, and one list of keywords/phrases. The writer had to choose a name from each character list, one prop, and one keyword. I chose Harrison Beecher and FBI Agent Pierce Taylor as my characters, a photograph as my prop, and the keyword "the most dangerous thing".</p>
    </blockquote>





	Meeting of the Minds

**Author's Note:**

> Season Six.  
> Prompt 23: Writing By Numbers (LJ's Hardtime100 Community) -- Two lists were provided of character names, one list of props, and one list of keywords/phrases. The writer had to choose a name from each character list, one prop, and one keyword. I chose Harrison Beecher and FBI Agent Pierce Taylor as my characters, a photograph as my prop, and the keyword "the most dangerous thing".

The law offices of Scaparella, Cline, Beecher and Amaratti are exactly as Pierce Taylor imagines they will be -- understated, elegant, and reeking of old money. The secretary has long legs, pert tits, and a coldly efficient smile. She leads him into Beecher's office, nods at the man behind the ornate mahogany desk, and shuts the door softly behind her. That one won't be fetching them any coffee.

Taylor sets his briefcase firmly down on the desk and takes a seat. "Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Beecher."

Harrison Beecher waves a hand airily. "I assume you're here because you have a deal on the table for my client."

It's not quite a question, but not quite a statement either. Taylor raises one finely sculpted brow. "A deal for Christopher Keller? No."

Beecher starts to rise from his chair. "Then we have nothing to discuss."

"I'm here about your son," Taylor says smoothly.

"My son?" Beecher hesitates, caught on the upswing of movement, before letting himself settle back down in the chair. "Tobias has nothing to do with this case."

"On the contrary," Taylor says, "the only reason you are handling this case is because of your son."

"My motivations for taking on a client are of no relevance to the prosecution," Beecher says flatly, "or the Bureau. I trust you can see yourself out?"

"I have something I'd like you to see."

"Agent Taylor, you are trying my patience. Unless you are here to discuss Keller--"

"I'm here to discuss reality," Taylor says firmly. He's already reached into the outer pocket of his briefcase; he now draws out the three photographs and places them on the desk. The first two are yearbook photos, bright-eyed boys smiling at the camera, ripe with promise. The third is a studio portrait, slightly more formal than the others. They are the third set of such photos that Taylor has requisitioned for the case; the first two sets had grown dog-eared and wrinkled through constant use. They must be crisp and clean for his purposes.

Taylor lines the photos up neatly, the smiling countenances of the boys facing the attorney. "Tell me what you see."

"Agent Taylor--" Beecher puffs out.

"They're all young, blond, good looking men. College educated. From affluent families. Mark Karachi's father is a respected surgeon at Benchley Memorial. Byam Lewis's father is the administrator for one of the top five charitable organizations in New York state." Taylor touches each of the photos as he speaks, lingering finally on the last. "The elder Tibbetts is an attorney."

"I'm well aware of the background of--"

"Young, blond, affluent men, from prominent families," Taylor says. "Like your son."

Beecher blinks. "If you have a point, Agent Taylor, now would be the time to make it."

"I have a question, Mr. Beecher," Taylor says. He leans forward in the chair. "Consider this: what will happen if you are able to clear Christopher Keller of this crime which he has so clearly committed? And what will happen when Christopher Keller gets tired of your son? Your blond, affluent, Harvard-educated, well-connected son?"

Taylor can see the implication sinking in, and is truly surprised that it never seems to have occurred to Beecher until this moment. The man runs a hand through his lank hair. "He… wouldn't--"

Taylor leans back, eyes Beecher expectantly and watches as the man's face pales, as he sags back just a little in his plush leather chair. "Every person in this country is entitled to fair representation in the courtroom," Taylor says softly. "I'm merely asking you to see the human side of this equation. The side that impacts you directly, Mr. Beecher. Because Christopher Keller isn't just any low-life scum. He's the low-life scum that's having an intimate relationship with your son."

Beecher's eyes flick briefly to the photos on the desk before he draws himself up. "I intend to defend my client to the best of my ability."

Taylor nods. He expects Beecher to say nothing less… aloud. And the most dangerous thing about this little gambit has always been the possibility of a backfire; Beecher may now pull out all the stops in order to prove that he has no fear. Of Keller, or for his son.

He sits forward and gathers the photos up slowly, leaving the traditional portrait of Bryce Tibbetts until last. He imagines that Harrison Beecher has a similar photo of a younger Tobias hanging somewhere at home.

"I thank you for your time," Taylor says formally as he rises. Beecher also rises, but moves no further, and Taylor imagines the man's eyes burning into his back as he walks to the door.

He waits until he has crossed the marble floor of the reception area and made his way to the elevator before relaxing his tense frame; lets himself lean against the cool wood panelling as the car plummets down forty-seven stories to the street below. He hopes that Harrison Beecher will seriously consider what he's said, and not just because of the implications it could have for his case against Christopher Keller.

Tobias Beecher is in over his head. And Taylor doesn't want to clean up any more dead bodies.


End file.
